The drivers door on my 1995 Chevrolet van has
been trouble, since I got it. The keyhole turns,
but the latch on the edge of the door is miserable
sluggish. I've tried WD, Silicone, white lithium,
atf, and gosh knows what else. Tried cleaning it
with brake cleaner, etc.

What's a good lubricant that lasts more than a
week? I spray it with stuff, cycle the inside lock
button up and down, and the lock frees up. A week
later, it's nearly impossible to open from outside
with a key (the latch part is sluggish).

I think the last time this happened, different
vehicle, I had to take the latch out, and scrub
it with hot water and brush and oven cleaner, to
clean it all out. Can't remember what I used for
lube.

What works?

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 02/23/2014 02:43 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
The drivers door on my 1995 Chevrolet van has
been trouble, since I got it. The keyhole turns,
but the latch on the edge of the door is miserable
sluggish. I've tried WD, Silicone, white lithium,
atf, and gosh knows what else. Tried cleaning it
with brake cleaner, etc.

What's a good lubricant that lasts more than a
week? I spray it with stuff, cycle the inside lock
button up and down, and the lock frees up. A week
later, it's nearly impossible to open from outside
with a key (the latch part is sluggish).

I think the last time this happened, different
vehicle, I had to take the latch out, and scrub
it with hot water and brush and oven cleaner, to
clean it all out. Can't remember what I used for
lube.

What works?




What you may need to do is take the door apart, clean the components and
coat with a dry film lubricant. It's essentially painted on and though
it won't last forever should not wear off in a day or two either.


When you get the door open you may find one of the pieces to be deformed
slightly and the cause of your problem.


That said, taking a door apart is usually a PITA.

On 2/23/2014 5:40 PM, philo wrote:
What you may need to do is take the door apart, clean the components and
coat with a dry film lubricant. It's essentially painted on and though
it won't last forever should not wear off in a day or two either.

When you get the door open you may find one of the pieces to be deformed
slightly and the cause of your problem.

That said, taking a door apart is usually a PITA.

This one isn't too bad. It's a work van,
and I've had plenty of door panels off.

I'd not considered deformed. Could be.
Sadly, the lubes I've tried each last
about a week. After I get all the old
crud out, I may pack it with wheel bearing
grease.


--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
The drivers door on my 1995 Chevrolet van has
been trouble, since I got it. The keyhole turns,
but the latch on the edge of the door is miserable
sluggish. I've tried WD, Silicone, white lithium,
atf, and gosh knows what else. Tried cleaning it
with brake cleaner, etc.

What's a good lubricant that lasts more than a
week? I spray it with stuff, cycle the inside lock
button up and down, and the lock frees up. A week
later, it's nearly impossible to open from outside
with a key (the latch part is sluggish).

I think the last time this happened, different
vehicle, I had to take the latch out, and scrub
it with hot water and brush and oven cleaner, to
clean it all out. Can't remember what I used for
lube.

What works?



Take it to a lock smith (or do it yourself) for a good cleaning, I expect
that someone has been using replacement keys made of aluminum.

The problem is alumumum dust oxidizing and gumming up the works. My son is
a lock smith and alumimum keys are the best thing that happened to his
service industry. Easy to fix = excellent money.

On 2/23/2014 6:09 PM, NotMe wrote:

Take it to a lock smith (or do it yourself) for a good cleaning, I expect
that someone has been using replacement keys made of aluminum.

The problem is alumumum dust oxidizing and gumming up the works. My son is
a lock smith and alumimum keys are the best thing that happened to his
service industry. Easy to fix = excellent money.

1) I actually AM a locksmith.
2) the sluggish part is about 12 inches away
from where the key operates.

Your answer is valid in many cases, but not
in this case.
--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 2/23/14 6:08 PM, Stormin Mormon wrote:


1) I actually AM a locksmith. 2) the sluggish part is about 12 inches
away from where the key operates.

Your answer is valid in many cases, but not in this case.

You should pay yourself more. Ya know the old saying that you get
what you pay for.
Someone else mentioned binding. Maybe the lube is covering up
the actual problem. Would a file solve your problem?

On 2/23/2014 7:31 PM, Dean Hoffman
wrote:
You should pay yourself more. Ya know the old saying that you get
what you pay for.
Someone else mentioned binding. Maybe the lube is covering up
the actual problem. Would a file solve your problem?

I'm too poor to pay myself any more.

Don't know about the file. I had a lock
I worked on, couple weeks ago. Sluggish, so
I spray lubed it. Worked fine for about a
week. Had to take it off the door, blast it
out with solvent, and relube. Then, it worked.

I suspect this old latch is full of old lube,
and keeps drying up. This week coming up is
supposed to be snow and bitter cold, so I'll
keep applying WD every day or two, to get by.

Thanks for an idea, might be what's needed.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 15:43:28 -0500, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

The drivers door on my 1995 Chevrolet van has
been trouble, since I got it. The keyhole turns,
but the latch on the edge of the door is miserable
sluggish. I've tried WD, Silicone, white lithium,
atf, and gosh knows what else. Tried cleaning it
with brake cleaner, etc.

What's a good lubricant that lasts more than a
week? I spray it with stuff, cycle the inside lock
button up and down, and the lock frees up. A week
later, it's nearly impossible to open from outside
with a key (the latch part is sluggish).

I think the last time this happened, different
vehicle, I had to take the latch out, and scrub
it with hot water and brush and oven cleaner, to
clean it all out. Can't remember what I used for
lube.


I've had good luck with motor oil.
Had a Chevy under warranty with a sticking lock.
They lubed it up with GM brand lock lube.
Longest lasting fix I had, then I went to motor oil which was next
best and handy. Use an oil can, and wipe off excess.

On 2/24/2014 7:03 AM, Vic Smith wrote:
I've had good luck with motor oil.
Had a Chevy under warranty with a sticking lock.
They lubed it up with GM brand lock lube.
Longest lasting fix I had, then I went to motor oil which was next
best and handy. Use an oil can, and wipe off excess.

I tried ATF, already. By lock, you mean where
you put the key in? On my van, the latch is
sluggish, about a foot below the key cylinder.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On Mon, 24 Feb 2014 07:48:25 -0500, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 2/24/2014 7:03 AM, Vic Smith wrote:
I've had good luck with motor oil.
Had a Chevy under warranty with a sticking lock.
They lubed it up with GM brand lock lube.
Longest lasting fix I had, then I went to motor oil which was next
best and handy. Use an oil can, and wipe off excess.

I tried ATF, already. By lock, you mean where
you put the key in? On my van, the latch is
sluggish, about a foot below the key cylinder.

Everywhere. Latch and lock mechanism.